Bolt-On Chevelle Chassis - Getting A Handle On Things

Here's An Exclusive First Look At An Aftermarket Bolt-On Chevelle Chassis

Complacency: The last stop on the road to Nowheresville. Just when you think you've seen it all, and say, "Everything that can be already is," something bolts from out of the blue and smacks you in the face.

The Roadster Shop, yes, The Roadster Shop, has added a new division to its operation known as RS Performance Concepts. RS Performance Concepts has taken all of its combined knowledge of chassis engineering in the street rod market and applied it to that of the muscle car market. It has strategically focused its efforts on the Bow Tie chassis development. First was the all-new Tri-Five chassis (as seen on our Project American Heroes '57) and now (drum roll please) comes the all-new, bolt-on Chevelle chassis.

RS Performance is the first company that we know of that has specifically engineered and tested an all-aftermarket bolt-on frame for the Chevelle. Bolt-on? Yes-there are no body modifications required to fit any '64-72 GM A-body. It will directly bolt up to all stock body mounts, bumper mounts and core support mounts. This new frame will also support all the popular Chevrolet engines such as the small-block, big-block and LS-series engines. There's also an adjustable transmission mount that works with all GM automatic and manual transmissions.

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After all the mandrel-bent framerails are put together, the entire frame and all crossbraces and crossmembers are on the jig ready for final assembly. You can see the table on the right with all pieces waiting for final assembly.

The frame itself is beautifully designed to include every desired option in one package. The 3.5x3.5-inch 10-gauge, fully boxed framerails were engineered to be far stronger than stock. The front and rear framerails have been narrowed for the use of wider wheels (provided you tub the vehicle). The mid brace is designed for up to 3-inch exhaust with ports through the brace and an integrated driveshaft loop.

The base price of this bolt-on frame with the above-mentioned components is $15,495, minus the brakes and third member. OK, so what are the benefits of this all-new Chevelle chassis?

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Chris Patzer spent the entire day and part of the evening welding the frame and all its pieces while on the jig.

* Strength through fully boxed, fabricated framerails and tubular crossbraced center crossmember design.* Lowered ride height and aggressive stance. * Adjustable 3-position rear ride height to fine-tune the car to a desired stance. * Easy installation to stock body requiring no body modifications. (Minor modification to the driveshaft tunnel will be necessary if the car is going to sit at the lowest suspension setting.) * Front suspension that allows for a 10-inch wide wheel. * Narrowed rear framerails to allow for up to a 14-inch wide tire. * Pre-fit with an actual engine block and transmission for a guaranteed fit. * Increased header and exhaust clearance. * Center crossmember designed for 3-inch exhaust to easily clear and fit inside the frame rather than hang below.

Take a glance at Thomas Lyman's road test article of the first Chevelle with this frame in the December 2007 issue of Super Chevy. Our resident SCCA road racer gave it all he had, and there was no letting go. The Chevelle grabbed the ground and hung in there like a cat on a curtain. Let's take a detailed look at this new, innovative chassis and the sum of its performance parts.

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Bolt-On Chevelle Chassis - Getting A Handle On Things

After all the mandrel-bent framerails are put together, the entire frame and all crossbraces and crossmembers are on the jig ready for final assembly. You can see the table on the right with all pieces waiting for final assembly.

Chris Patzer spent the entire day and part of the evening welding the frame and all its pieces while on the jig.

Only one or two pieces are MIG-welded, the rest of the frame is meticulously TIG-welded.

Take a look at the quality of the welds that go into this frame; the entire frame looks just like this-and it's made with pride in the U.S.A.

Take a close look at this rear crossbrace. Notice the holes cut into it for the routing of the exhaust. The exhaust system will tuck nicely in the rails and none of it will hang down or be visible. Beautiful craftsmanship.

The next day after all welding is complete, the frame is lifted from the jig, and the suspension components are ready to be bolted on.

Once Chris is done welding and bolting on the standard suspension equipment, the bare metal frame is packed into a crate and shipped off to the new owner. From there the new chassis owner has the option to paint or powdercoat the frame any color they wish. RS Performance not only ships their frames with a default setup, but there are also a myriad of possible upgrades that can be performed at the shop before the frame is shipped. Call RS Performance and discuss what those options are. There are far too many to list here. RS Performance will also build the entire vehicle, should you so desire it.

Brandon Berkshire is going to walk us through the various standard parts that come on the chassis, with a few of the possible upgrades as well. After the frame was finished, all the bare metal pieces were powdercoated and sent back to the shop for final assembly. It's this final assembly that we will look closely at. As we mentioned earlier, DSE is working closely with RS Performance and had engineered the C6 suspension and geometry. First is the power rack-and-pinion.

After the power rack-and-pinion is installed, you may notice what looks to be another crossbrace just in front of the rack and front crossmember. Cleverly hidden inside that crossbrace is the sway bar. At first I was confused when I saw no sway bar and had to ask Brandon where it was. That's when it was pointed out that it's all internal.

Next come the powdercoated tie rod ends.

Here is the splined sway bar we spoke of in the main body of the story.

Here is the splined sway bar we spoke of in the main body of the story.

The DSE C6 Corvette spindles and A-arms are also part of the standard build of every chassis.

The A-arms are installed.

Two 1/8-inch wheel shims are used as a generic starting point for alignment. The rest is up to the owner.

These DSE-tuned Afco billet coilovers are an amazing piece of work, they come with a remote reservoir that can be mounted in any location.

These shocks are part one of the upgrades offered by RS Performance.

Another option is to install these monster-sized 14-inch Wilwood cross-drilled and slotted rotors and six-piston calipers.

What you see is what you get in this front setup, minus two optional upgrades. The sum of all parts makes for an amazing handling and stopping vehicle.

The triangulated rear four-link and sway bar are all fabricated by the Roadster Shop and come in standard bare metal out of the crate. If you notice in the photo, the rear suspension has three possible positions in height. With the middle and highest ride height there are no body modifications required. At the lowest ride height, the driveshaft will end up hitting the rear floor just in front of the rear seat. The driveshaft tunnel will need to be cut and raised up 2-3 inches for proper clearance.

Part of the standard equipment in the rear...

...QA-1 dual adjustable coilovers.

Another possible upgrade in the rear: Wilwood 13-inch rotors with an internal parking brake...

...and four-piston calipers.

This new chassis is amazing. The guys at RS Performance have done their homework.

We wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't seen it in action for ourselves. It looks like old Chevelles are capable of new tricks.

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